Having Trouble Deciding Between Bypass And The Sleeve. Any Suggestions?

[pedsnurse120304 19]

So confused. My mind is so tired of going back and fourth between the 2. Looking for advice..

[lynnz 13]

Im getting the sleeve, it seem sless invasive and your intestines arent messed with. I have a friend who did bypass and she has to take so many pills, vits, she also just had a baby 2 weeks ago and she was only 5.6 lbs which is pretty small.. dr said it was because of the bypass.

I say sleeve, good luck in your decison

[tonibugg 64]

Lots of reasons for me but I'll list my most important ones =)

1) My sister in law, friend and cousin all had the gastric bypass and they have all had not only complications (some more severe than others) and they have all gained back a minimum of 60 lbs each!!

2) Dumping syndrome.. not interested in this process at all!

3) Malabsorption problems

4) Did not want my intestines rerouted.

Now for the reasons I chose the sleeve..

1) I have not found anyone in any forum or otherwise that has gained weight back.

2) Most lose the weight goals in 12 months.

3) low complication rate vs any other surgery

4) Sleeve was performed prior to the GB for super morbidly obese in order to get them to a safe weight for the GB surgery. Research!

5) Almost all surgeons I have talked to, read about or listened to on various sites all agree that the sleeve is the best option for wls currently

Like I said there are so many more reasons but these were some of the big ones for me!

Good luck with your decision and your journey, whichever journey you choose! =) Make sure you listen to your heart, body and surgeon (lol) and do what is best for you. Don't let other peoples reasons decide for you!

[Wheetsin 714]

There's really not much advice to give other than really, truly look into the pros and cons of each procedure (short and long term) and then be COMPLETELY honest with yourself when you evaluate the appropriateness of each procedure compared to your desired lifestyle, level of commitment, and desired results. You really need to decide on what will work best with AND for you.

In my case, like I posted earlier, I'm willing to take up the slack that my body won't automatically give me, in order to avoid some of the more unfortunate aspects of RNY. If I honestly could not pick up that slack and needed a "free pass" then the sleeve would not have been a good choice for me (still wouldn't have gone with RNY though, pretty sure I'd pick DS over it)

[former_vbg 198]

One thing I would HIGHLY recommend you research is the issues with malabsorption with the GP. In short, after about 12 to 18 months, the body typically resets itself and while it might only actually absorb half the calories you are consuming for that first 12 to 18 months, steadily your body will adjust and absorb more calories until you are almost where you were prior to surgery. So, if you were used to eating say 1,500 to 2,000 calories after surgery, your body is likely going to only absorb half of that in the beginning. Eventually, your body will adjust and it will start seeing all or nearly all of those calories leading to weight gain because you won't realize what is happening with your body. This is most often what leads to re-gain for those that have the GP.

Also, understand that you are signing up for frequent labwork for LIFE to be sure your body is getting the necessary Vitamins it needs to keep you from having other health issues. Just imagine if you had this surgery, started regaining weight and left with the side effects of having to take a laundry list of Vitamins just to stay healthy. No thank you!

Just try to research the best you can. Ultimately you have to feel comfortable with your own choice. Just sharing some of the thoughts that went into how I made my decision for the sleeve. I have absolutely no regrets except that I didn't do it sooner!

[lsereno 2,525]

I chose VSG because:

I had less weight to lose and I thought it would be sufficient.

I wanted to be able to take arthritis medications.

I thought I wouldn't need to take as many Vitamins (turned out I was wrong - my program through Kaiser has me take the same Vitamins as someone who had the bypass. I'm OK with that now anyway.)

I was afraid of the intestinal rerouting.

I originally thought VSG was an external sleeve that was placed around the stomach to prevent it from expanding. But even after I learned what it really was, after reading this forum and other information about the procedure, I felt confident choosing it.

BTW, I do know people who have gained weight after having VSG and some that have not been able to get to goal. So I wouldn't say I chose it because I thought weight loss was better or more permanent with VSG than with RNY.

Lynda

[lovelyluna 4]

My personal pick is the sleeve. My reason is because it seems less complicated then the bypass. With the sleeve the doctor is only touching your stomach. The bypass they are playing with your intestines too which for some reason scares me.

[ChynaBlack 11]

I went with the sleeve because i feel it was safer than the bypass. i didnt want my intestines rerouted and at the wl seminar i was told the bypass was dangerous and could kill you. i am 3 weeks post op and i couldn't be more happy with my results, im am well, and i see so much progress. i am so happy i had my proceedure done on the 7th and only one regret,,,i didnt do it sooner. so its your choice in the end. But i wouldnt change my decision to have the sleeve.

[Kristy 90]

I also chose the sleeve because I felt it was a safer surgery for me. I was scared to death of the complications associated with the bypass of the intestines. However, I had the sleeve 13.5 months ago and still have 17-23 more pounds to go to get to goal. I had lost 80 pounds in the first six months but have only lost 24 pounds in the last 7.5 months, but it's still coming off but just very slowly!!! My surgeon told me that my sleeve had done its job and the last pounds are going to come off with my hard work, which I'm ok with because I want to get to goal so BAD that it's teaching me to eat right and exercise!! This is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!

I also have experience dumping with the sleeve, which they say can happen with the sleeve just not to often! It was a very scary thing and I hope it never happens again!!

Good luck in your decision and make the one that works best for YOU!! This is all about YOU!!!

[pedsnurse120304 19]

I also chose the sleeve because I felt it was a safer surgery for me. I was scared to death of the complications associated with the bypass of the intestines. However' date=' I had the sleeve 13.5 months ago and still have 17-23 more pounds to go to get to goal. I had lost 80 pounds in the first six months but have only lost 24 pounds in the last 7.5 months, but it's still coming off but just very slowly!!! My surgeon told me that my sleeve had done its job and the last pounds are going to come off with my hard work, which I'm ok with because I want to get to goal so BAD that it's teaching me to eat right and exercise!! This is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!

I also have experience dumping with the sleeve, which they say can happen with the sleeve just not to often! It was a very scary thing and I hope it never happens again!!

Good luck in your decision and make the one that works best for YOU!! This is all about YOU!!![/quote']

Thanks for sharing. I'm leaning towards the sleeve. Still so confused. If all continues to go as planned, I should have surgery around October. Keep up the good work. Can you tell me what foods you can eat and are tolerating well.

Thanks, StephanieCassone

[pedsnurse120304 19]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm leaning towards the Sleeve. It sounds like bypass has a lot more complications..